Robert Kelly, at right, appared in Norwalk Superior Court on Friday to be arraigned on charges of possession of child pornography. He was represented by Attorney Mark Sherman, left.

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Robert Kelly, at right, appared in Norwalk Superior Court on Friday to be arraigned on charges of possession of child pornography. He was represented by Attorney Mark Sherman, left.

WESTPORT — A town librarian charged with possessing child pornography made his first appearance in court Friday morning.

The arraignment of library employee Robert Kelly charged with possession of child pornography has been transferred from the Norwalk court to the Connecticut Superior Court in Stamford due to the seriousness of the felony charges against Kelly, his lawyers, Mark Sherman said.

Kelly, 43, a resident of Westport, sat in the back of Norwalk Court with two elderly people who appeared to be his parents on the morning of Feb. 9. He looked straight ahead and appeared on the verge of tears before presenting himself, with his attorney, before the Norwalk court judge.

Sherman asked the judge to transfer Kelly’s case to Stamford for a court date of Feb. 22, a request the judge granted. “Charges such as child pornography are automatically transferred to ‘part A’ where more serious felony charges are heard,” Sherman said outside the courtroom, explaining the case’ move to Stamford.

“It’s premature,” to determine how the case will play out, Sherman said, adding the police report related to Kelly’s case has not been recovered because that information will only be available when the case moves to Stamford and is designated in ‘par A.’

“When defending Connecticut child pornography charges, it’s critical to forensically examine the images at issue. Remember these are just accusations at this point in time,” Sherman said, adding he will represent and enter pleas on behalf of Kelly at his Feb. 22 arraignment.

Kelly, manager of collection curation at the library, turned himself into police Jan. 29 after a warrant was issued for his arrest on Jan. 26 following a months-long investigation by state and local police which found 45 images of child pornography at Kelly’s home on his personal electronic devices, police said.

Upon turning himself in, Kelly was charged with second-degree possession of child pornography, promoting obscene performance, and obscenity.

Westport Library Executive Director Bill Harme said in a Jan. 29 statement that he was “shocked and saddened” by the news of Kelly’s charges and “immediately restricted Mr. Kelly’s access to the library and its property and instructed him not to perform his duties,” when the library was made aware of the case.